How will the new Condo Act affect the Pavilion Condo?

These are the new items in the Condo Act  more pertinent to our Condominium:

Criminal penalties will apply for:

• Forging election ballots and voting certificates
• Theft and embezzlement of association funds
• Accepting kickbacks
• Violating fiduciary responsibilities
• Destroying official records
  

WEBSITE- Mandatory password-protected websites for posting official records for associations that operate more than 150 units before July 1st 2018. A current copy of the following documents must be posted in digital format on the association’s website:

o   The recorded declaration of condominium and each amendment to the declaration.

o   The recorded bylaws of the association and each amendment to the bylaws.

• The articles of incorporation, or other documents creating the association, and each amendment thereto as filed with the Department of State.
• The rules of the association.
• Any management agreement, lease, or other contract to which the association is a party or under which the association or the unit owners have an obligation or responsibility.
• Summaries of bids for materials, equipment, or services must be maintained on the website for 1 year.
• The annual budget required by s. 718.112(2)(f) and any proposed budget to be considered at the annual meeting.
• The most recent financial reports
• Any proposed financial reports to be considered at a meeting.
• The certification of each director required by s. 718.112(2)(d)4.b.
• All contracts or transactions between the association and any director, officer, corporation, firm, or association that is not an affiliated condominium association or any other entity in which an association director is also a director or officer and financially interested.
• Any contract or document regarding a conflict of interest or possible conflict of interest as provided in ss. 468.436(2) and 718.3026(3).
• The notice of any unit owner meeting and the agenda for the meeting no later than 14 days before the meeting. The notice must be posted in plain view on the front page of the website, or on a separate subpage of the website labeled “Notices” which is conspicuously visible and linked from the front page.
• Any document to be considered and voted on by the owners during the meeting
• Any document listed on the agenda at least 7 days before the meeting at which the document or the information within the document will be considered.
• Notice of any board meeting, and the agenda and any other document required for the meeting.

DEBIT CARDS.— An association or any officer, director, employee, or agent of an association may not use a debit card issued in the name of the association, or which is billed directly to the association, for the payment of any association expense. Use of a debit card issued in the name of the association or billed directly to the association for any expense that is not a lawful obligation of the association may be prosecuted as credit card fraud pursuant to s. 817.61.

Click Here to see the latest Amended Bill 1682

Airbnb regulations: Local governments know best

Pamela Peters

OrlandoSentinel.com |

Lawmakers in Tallahassee are on the verge of taking away one of the core functions and responsibilities of Florida’s local governments. The action is considered under the guise of allowing so-called “home-sharing” platforms to flourish, but if this legislation passes, it could hurt the safety and vitality of our communities and take away the ability of our cities to decide what is best for us.

Florida communities have been welcoming visitors to our state since its earliest days, and, as a tourism-based economy, that steady stream of visitors is vital to our continued prosperity. Addressing the rights and needs of everyone is a constant work in progress, but through much trial and error, we have mostly learned how to strike a balance that works for both our residents and our visitors. Everyone is allowed to enjoy our communities whether they are third-generation residents or weekenders who fly in for a wedding or a warm-weather getaway. Unfortunately, in some Central Florida neighborhoods that balance is teetering because of an explosion of online rentals through sites like Airbnb and HomeAway.

Although many of us appreciate innovations in travel that have resulted from the rapid development of the internet, vacation-home rentals often have a negative effect on residents in Florida. The issue seems as if it emerged overnight, especially for the families who live close to homes that are listed.
Nightly rental websites that claim to be “home-sharing” platforms have grown exponentially over the past few years. Airbnb is less than 10 years old, but it is valued at more than $30 billion. That is larger than Hilton and Hyatt combined. These home-sharing companies did not exist a few years ago, and neither did the issue in a meaningful way. Now the sites and brands themselves are fairly ubiquitous.

Local media have reported stories of “party houses,” hostels and boarding-house-style rentals from Longwood to Orlando and throughout the state. Investors are reportedly purchasing homes in residential areas for the express purpose of renting them commercially. Coastal and lakeside properties are especially popular. This presents an obvious threat to the balance and quality of life of full-time residents stuck next to the equivalent of an “illegal hotel.” For this reason, cities and homeowner associations have regulations in place to limit short-term rentals to specific areas. That is a lot like zoning tourist corridors for legitimate hotels or traditional bed-and-breakfast inns in our residential neighborhoods.

As a resident and former city commissioner in Winter Park, I have joined with neighbors and friends to protect the small-town feel of the city and our residential areas by limiting most commercial activity to major thoroughfares like Lee Road and Mills, Aloma and Fairbanks avenues. Commercial activity in the downtown area must meet certain guidelines consistent with Winter Park’s history and character. The city looks much different than it did 50 years ago when I moved here, and I cannot imagine what it will look like 50 years from now. But what I do know is that, in order to preserve the city’s unique character, Winter Park’s elected leaders will need the ability to control land use and zoning within the city. The same goes for leaders in other communities across our state. And, of course, residents and leaders in other communities across our state deserve the same opportunities.

On the short-term rental issue, Tallahassee lawmakers are considering legislation that would take away the rights of our local communities to regulate these industries that could profoundly affect our quality of life. This would be a terrible mistake. There is nothing more local and unique than the physical layout of a city and the way in which properties are used. Every city is different. It is simply bad policy to treat each Florida municipality the same. It is even worse policy to prevent local governments from working to strike a balanced approach that works for the residents in their unique municipalities.

Florida communities can and should determine the right policies for themselves. Politicians should allow them the time and opportunity to do so. I have always believed that government closest to the people best serves the people.

Zoning and land use are not new to local governments; it is why many of them originally existed. Let locals handle this. They will do what is best for their own.

Pamela Peters is a former Winter Park city commissioner and lives there.

Read More: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/

What Black Mold looks like at the Pavilion

The smell in this unit is unbearable and probably unhealthy!

Baseboard of guest bedroom

Wall in Guest Bedroom

Black mold, sometimes called "toxic black mold," most commonly appears in basements, crawlspaces and other areas of homes exposed to high levels of moisture. The spores of black mold can cause a wide range of allergic reactions and other health problems, including chronic fatigue, chronic headaches, fever and respiratory problems. Though black mold is the most infamous of the fungi that commonly grow in homes and businesses, all molds are potentially hazardous to human health and should be treated with caution.

From Cyber Citizens for Justice: Senator Steube Conflict of Interest and Becker & Poliokoff

The condo bills are making progress -- much to the dismay of some of the so-called specialized law firms. In my opinion their arguments against the bill border stupidity -- they make no -- or very little -- sense. I understand that they feel that the bill provisions may reduce their income, but that's life! They make enough money on the back of the families that live in community associations.

Click Here to See for Whom Senator Steube works for

What I understand even less is the fact that Florida Senator Greg Steube, who works for the law firm of Becker & Poliakoff, can vote on a bill that directly impacts his income. As expected: HE VOTED "NAY!" We hear so much about board members having a CONFLICT OF INTEREST -- what about senators? Obviously, when they are attorneys, conflict of interest doesn't apply! No wonder that many US citizens are disgusted with our "professional" legislators. ETHICS seems to be a word not in their vocabulary! Please read my blog about this issue!

Read More: http://www.ccfj.net/

Enrique Flor from the Miami Herald Needs Our Help!

ENRIQUE FLOR FROM THE MIAMI HERALD IS ONE OF THE REPORTERS THAT HELPED UNCOVER THE CORRUPTION IN CONDOMINIUMS THAT LED TO THE FINDINGS FROM THE GRAND JURY AND THE ADOPTION OF THE AMENDMENT TO THE CONDO ACT.

BELOW THE TESTIMONY OF ERICA CARRILLO FROM UNIVISION AND BRENDA MEDINA FROM THE MIAMI HERALD WHO, WITH ENRIQUE, WORKED ON THE STORIES TO #StopCondoCorruption 

"KIKE" NEEDS OUR HELP!

Click Here to Contribute: gofundme.com/enriqueflor

Our dear friend Enrique "Kike" Flor's life changed drastically on January 20th when he suffered a stroke.

He was paralyzed on the left side of his body and is now re-learning how to move his hand, his arm and his leg, how to walk, and many other actions we often take for granted.

He is in good spirit, working hard every day to recover as soon as possible. Kike wants to go back to being the dedicated and active dad to his 12-year-old daughter Marianita. He also wants to keep doing his work as a journalist, exposing wrongdoings and giving a voice to his community.

But his rehabilitation will take time and is very costly. We are asking for your help during this process. Every bit counts.

Kike needs help paying for therapy and transportation to and from his therapy and many doctors' appointments. Right now he needs assistance 24/7 since he broke a vertebrae after a fall. We are also working on adapting his house to make it safer for his eventual return.

We appreciate your help and well wishes for Kike.

Thank you,

Brenda and Erika

#StopCondoCorruption Demonstration Saturday April 1st 2017

#StopCondoCorruption

When: Saturday, April 1 2017 at 10:30

Where: In front of Main Courthouse West Palm Beach

205 N. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach, FL 33401

For More Information: facebook.com/reformafl

Miami's spectacular condo-flipping market is in turmoil

Wolf Richterm Wolf Street

Miami-Dade’s spectacular condo-flipping mania is in turmoil, with sales plunging, inventory-for-sale soaring, and new supply flooding the market. It’s not like Miami hasn’t been through this before.

In February,  home sales of all types fell 10% year-over-year, to 1,835 homes. These sales “do not include Miami’s multi-billion dollar new construction condo market,” the Miami Association of Realtors clarified in its report on March 23.

And this new construction market that is not included has become distressed.

Sales of single-family homes fell 10% in February, to 881 houses. The report blamed the shortage of properties “in popular price points.” Prices have been rising sharply, and at the price points where people could actually buy a house – below $250,000 – few sellers were playing ball. Hence a stalling market. Sales of high-priced units rose, but they weren't’t enough to pull out the totals.

Condo sales fell 10% as well, to 954 units. This time, the report didn’t blame the lack of supply. Instead: “Existing condo sales are competing with a robust new construction market.” At the same time, inventory of existing condos for sale, not including new units, rose 10% to 15,289. At the current sales rate, supply soared 29% to 14 months.

This chart by StatFunding shows the plunge in sales and the surge in condos listed for sale. I circled the last five Februaries on the sales line (red). From February 2014 to February 2017, condo sales have plunged 25%. Andrew Stearns, StatFunding’s founder and CEO, calls the resale inventory – the dark green line that has soared 90% since early 2013 – “scary”:

Even this “scary” inventory understates the total number of condos for sale. It only includes units listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). But developers normally don’t list their new units on the MLS, and thus they’re not included in the above chart.

This is the distressed market that pre-construction condo flippers are facing.

Pre-construction condo flippers make a highly leveraged bet. They buy the condo from the developer during the construction phase. The initial deposit is small. Additional payments are required as construction progresses. But in a booming market, lenders are eager to lend. Then, often around the time the building is completed, flippers try to unload the condo at a profit. This bet has been hot in the condo construction boom around the country. But in Miami, the bet is now collapsing.

Read More: http://www.businessinsider.com